Delaware Supreme Court upholds forced company sale

DOVER (AP) — Delaware’s Supreme Court has upheld the court-ordered sale of a successful New York-based translation company after a judge concluded the relationship between the company’s two co-founders and sole directors had devolved into “complete dysfunction.”

In a 4-1 ruling Monday, the justices affirmed a Chancery Court ruling ordering the sale of TransPerfect Global, which provides translation, website localization and other services, with offices in more than 90 cities worldwide.

The judge concluded that feuding co-founders Philip Shawe and Elizabeth Elting, his former fiancee, were hopelessly deadlocked over management of the privately held business they started in a college dorm room.

The Supreme Court also upheld an order directing Shawe, who challenged the sale, to pay Elting $7.1 million in fees and expenses as sanctions for his “deplorable behavior” in the lawsuit.